Embodiments of the present invention disclose a method and an access device for generating an Internet Protocol (IP) broadband video service bill, the method includes: returning, by an access device, authorization information indicating whether the user is allowed to watch or preview based on watching or previewing right of the user when a user demands a program, recording the joining time point of the user, and sending received multicast stream to a port of the user; recording, by the access device, leaving time point of the user when the user stops watching or previewing the program demanded; sending, by the access device, original bill of the user to a video service support system; wherein the original bill includes the program demanded by the user, joining time point and leaving time point; processing, by the video service support system, the original bill to get much statistic data such as a real-time bill and audience rating.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A method for generating an Internet Protocol (IP) broadband video service bill, comprising: receiving, by an access device locating between a user terminal and a multicast router, a request for demanding a program from the user terminal; checking, by the access device, whether a user corresponding to the user terminal has a right to demand the program upon receiving the request for demanding the program from the user terminal; if the user has the right to demand the program, checking, by the access device, whether there is a user in a program group comprising the program on demand; if the user is first member joining the program group, sending, by the access device, the request for demanding the program to the multicast router and receiving, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand from the multicast router; then recording, by the access device, a time for the user joining the program on demand while sending, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand received from the multicast router to the user terminal; if the user is not first member joining the program group, recording, by the access device, a time for the user joining the program on demand while sending, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand to the user terminal; recording, by the access device, a time for the user leaving the program on demand while stopping sending, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand to the user terminal when the user stops watching the program on demand; and sending, by the access device, an original bill including the times for the user joining and leaving the program on demand to a video service support system so that a practical bill of the user can be generated by the video service support system based on preset fee information of the program on demand and the original bill received.
A method for billing Internet Protocol (IP) broadband video services involves an access device (like a router or set-top box) positioned between a user's device and a multicast router. When a user requests a program, the access device verifies if the user has the right to watch it. If authorized, and if the user is the first to request that program, the access device forwards the request to the multicast router, receives the video stream, and starts sending the video to the user, recording the start time. If other users are already watching, it records the start time and forwards the stream. When the user stops watching, the access device records the stop time and ceases transmission. Finally, it sends a bill containing the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user has a right to preview the program on demand, and the method further comprises: setting, by the access device, an initiating timer for the user before sending the multicast stream of the program on demand to the user terminal; and recording, by the access device, the time for the user leaving the program on demand while stopping sending, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand to the user terminal if the initiating timer is overtime before the user stops watching the program on demand.
In the IP broadband video billing method, if the user has preview rights, the access device sets a timer before sending the video stream. If the user watches beyond the timer's limit, and hasn't stopped watching before the timer expires, the access device stops sending the video stream and records the stop time when the timer expires, generating the original bill as described previously, including the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: requesting, by the access device, the multicast router to leave the program group if there is no user watching a program in the program group comprising the program on demand; stopping sending, by the multicast router, the multicast stream of the program on demand to the access device; and stopping sending, by the access device, the multicast stream of the program on demand to a port of the user terminal.
In the IP broadband video billing method, if no users are watching a particular program, the access device requests the multicast router to stop sending the program's data. Consequently, the multicast router stops sending the video stream to the access device, and the access device stops sending the video stream to the user. The original billing method remains the same as previously described, including the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: setting a maximum program number indicating how many programs the user may watch simultaneously; and the checking by the access device whether the user has the right to demand the program comprises: checking, by the access device, whether a program number indicating how many programs the user have demanded reaches the maximum program number; if the program number reaches the maximum program number, determining that the user has no right to demand the program, and terminating the procedure; if the program number fails to reach the maximum program number, checking, by the access device, whether the user has been obstructed based on a preset user table for storing user registration information; if the user has been obstructed, determining that the user has no right to demand the program, and terminating the procedure; if the user hasn't been obstructed, checking, by the access device, whether the user has a right to watch the program on demand based on a right template in the preset user table; if the user has the right to watch the program on demand, returning authorization information indicating that the user has the right to demand the program.
In the IP broadband video billing method, a maximum number of programs a user can watch simultaneously is set. When a user requests a program, the access device checks if the user has exceeded this limit. If so, the request is denied. Otherwise, it checks if the user is blocked (based on a user table). If blocked, the request is denied. If not blocked, it checks if the user has the right to watch the program (based on a user table). If the user has right to watch the program on demand, authorization information is returned indicating that the user has the right to demand the program. If authorized, the process continues as described in the original billing method.
5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising: setting, by the access device, an on-demand state of the user as watching, and recording the on-demand state.
In the IP broadband video billing method, after verifying a user's right to watch a program (including checks for maximum programs, blocked status, and viewing rights), the access device sets the user's status to "watching" and records this status. This status complements the process described in the original billing method including recording start and stop times and sending information to a video service support system.
6. The method of claim 4 , wherein the process of checking by the access device whether the user has right to watch the program on demand based on the right template in the preset user table comprises: if the user has no right to watch the program on demand, checking, by the access device, whether the user has a right to preview the program on demand based on the right template; if the user has the right to preview the program on demand, returning to the user terminal the authorization information indicating that the user is allowed to preview the program on demand; if the user has no right to preview the program on demand, determining that the user has no right to demand the program.
Within the IP broadband video billing method's authorization process, if a user doesn't have the right to watch a program, the access device checks if they have preview rights. If preview rights exist, the access device authorizes the preview. If the user also lacks preview rights, the request is denied. The original billing method includes recording start and stop times and sending information to a video service support system if authorization is granted.
7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: presetting an intraday maximum preview number for the user; before the process of returning to the user terminal the authorization information indicating that the user is allowed to preview the program on demand, the method further comprising: checking, by the access device, whether preview times of the user have exceeded the intraday maximum preview number; if the preview times have exceeded the intraday maximum preview number, determining that the user has no fight to demand the program; if the preview times haven't exceeded the intraday maximum preview number, checking by the access device whether the user has the right to preview the program on demand based on the right template.
In the IP broadband video billing method, a daily limit on previews is set for each user. Before granting a preview, the access device checks if the user has exceeded this limit. If so, the request is denied. Otherwise, it verifies if the user has preview rights (as described previously), and if so, grants the preview. The original billing method includes recording start and stop times and sending information to a video service support system if authorization is granted.
8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising: setting, by the access device, the on-demand state of the user as previewing, adding 1 to the preview times, and recording, by the access device, the on-demand state.
Within the IP broadband video billing method, when preview access is granted after verifying preview rights and the daily preview limit, the access device sets the user's state to "previewing", increments the user's preview count, and records the state. The original billing method continues which includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
9. The method of claim 6 , further comprising: setting, by the access device, the on-demand state of the user as previewing, adding 1 to the preview times, and recording, by the access device, the on-demand state.
Within the IP broadband video billing method, when preview access is granted after verifying preview rights, the access device sets the user's state to "previewing", increments the user's preview count, and records the state. The original billing method continues which includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein before the process of receiving, by an access device locating between a user terminal and a multicast router, a request for demanding a program from the user terminal, comprises: generating, by the user terminal, an Internet Group Management Protocol Join (IGMP Join) packet based on the user's demand, and sending, by the user terminal, the IGMP Join packet to the access device.
Before the access device receives a request for a program, the user's device generates an Internet Group Management Protocol Join (IGMP Join) packet based on the user's selection and sends this packet to the access device. The original billing method then begins which includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
11. The method of claim 10 , wherein information carried in the IGMP Join packet comprises: Media Access Control (MAC) address and IP address of the user terminal, IP address of the program on demand, and a multicast group in which the user terminal requests to join.
The IGMP Join packet, created by the user's device and sent to the access device when requesting a program, contains the user's device's Media Access Control (MAC) address, IP address, the IP address of the requested program, and the multicast group the user wants to join. The original billing method then begins, which includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the stopping sending by the access device the multicast stream of the program on demand to the user terminal comprises: sending, by the access device, an IGMP Leave packet to the multicast router; stopping forwarding, by the multicast router, data of the program on demand to the access device after receiving the IGMP Leave packet.
When a user stops watching a program in the IP broadband video billing method, the access device sends an IGMP Leave packet to the multicast router. Upon receiving this packet, the multicast router stops forwarding the program's data to the access device. The original billing method includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein information carried in the IGMP Leave packet comprises: the MAC address as well as IP address of the access device, and IP address of the program which the user terminal requests to delete.
The IGMP Leave packet, sent by the access device to the multicast router when a user stops watching, contains the MAC address and IP address of the access device, and the IP address of the program the user is leaving. The original billing method uses the recorded start and stop times to generate the user bill.
14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the user terminal comprises one of a Set-Top Box (STB) and a computer.
In the IP broadband video billing method, the user terminal (the device used to watch video) can be a Set-Top Box (STB) or a computer. The access device manages program requests, authorization, and billing information related to the video service being used on this terminal. The original billing method includes the program, start time, and stop time to a video service support system, which calculates the final bill amount based on pricing.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
September 21, 2007
September 10, 2013
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